Poultry break-apart apparatus



A. B. SEGUR POULTRY BREAK-APART APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 24,1963 Original Filed May 5, 1960 5 lNl/ENTOR B) M w ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 24, 1963 A. B. SEGUR 3,104,418

POULTRY BREAK-APART APPARATUS Original Filed May 5, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet2 lNVENTO/P.

flw iy BVQWWH/WMYW ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 19 Claims. c1. 17-11 This invention relates to anapparatus useful in separating or breaking apart poultry carcasses as apreliminary step in a poultry meat removal operation.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No.27,093, filed May 5, 1960.

In commercial poultry processing plants where meat is to be removed frompoultry (usually cooked or par tially cooked) for use in soups, pies andthe like, it is customary to provide a poultry dismembering station.There, an operator removes the wings and legs from the carcasses andplaces the various components into separate pans [for subsequent meatremoval. Specifically, an operator grips a carcass in one hand and pullsoff the legs and wings with the other hand.

For efiiciency of operation, it is important that the carcasses bedismembered uniformly and that each component remains intact until itreaches its particular meat removal station. Thus, at the dismemberingstation, the legs should each be broken cleanly away at the hip socket(acetabulum); if on occasion the hack of the fowl should also come apartin the relatively weak region between the synsacrum and the thoracicvertebrae, then standardized procedures at the subsequent meat removalstations can no longer be followed and inefficiency results.

In any commercial operation where meat is removed from poultry byconventional methods, there is the danger that small bones may beremoved along with the meat and may ultimately reach the consumer in thepackage food product. The problem arises principally at that stationwhere meat is removed from the body of the fowl, the appendages havingbeen previously removed therefrom. Ordinarily, when on operatorseparates the back and breast portions of the body, some of thevertebral ribs may remain with the back portion while other of the smallvertebral ribs may tend to remain with the breast section. Since atleast some of these ribs might be connected to either section, anoperator at the meat removal station might easily make the wrongassumption and, in attempting to remove quickly the meat from the sideportions of these sections, might accidentally and unknowingly removetiny rib bones and bone fragments along with the meat. The danger ofthis occurring is increased where, as in most commercial meat removaloperations, knives are used for cutting meat away from the bones.

Accordingly, it an object of the present invention to provide a poultrybreak-apart apparatus which greatly reduces the likelihood of bonecontamination in the final meat product. Another object is to providemeans for supporting a fowl so that the back and breast sections may bereadily separated in such a way that the vertebral ribs will remainconnected to the back section and will separate cleanly from the sternalribs of the breast section. Another object is to provide supportingmeans for supporting a poultry carcass so that the legs may be easilydetached from the hip sockets without danger that the back or hip boneswill break or become fragmented or that pieces of bone from the backsection will be removed along with the legs. A still further object isto provide an apparatus wherein the so-called tissue meats which extendbetween the back and breast sections be hind the ribs can he removed andsalvaged as solid meat instead of being pulled out in the form ofvw'dely stretched tissues.

Another object is to provide means for firmly holding a fowl carcass insupine position so as to permit an operator to remove or separatevarious sections for subsequent treatment at meat removal stations. Anaddition- 21 object is to provide an apparatus equipped with meansserving as a fulcrum for the removal of wings from a poultry carcass.Another object is to provide means for supporting fowl so that anoperator may use both hands in separating various sections of thecarcass, the support means being constructed to assist the operator inbreaking the carcass apart in a predetermined fashion.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a poultry break-apart fixtureembodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the fixture;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the fixture showing details of thepoultry clamping elements;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged broken perspective view illustrating the fixturewith a fowl in clamped position thereon.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates a fixture for supporting a poultry carcass during abreak-apart operation. The fixture comprises a pair of parallel andvertical side plates 11 and 12 spaced apart by spacer elements 13, 14and 15 which are rigidly secured therebetween. Side flanges 16 and 17are connected to the side walls 11 and 12 and are apertured forattachment of the fixture to a suitable support such as, for example, atable surface. The side plates and their associated elements constitutea frame for supporting poultry clamping arms 18 and 19.

The poultry clamping arms 18 and 19 project forwardly from between theside walls or plates of the fixture. Upper arm or horn 18 [includes amounting bracket 20 allixed to side plates 11 and 12 by rivets 21 or byany other suitable means, an elongated horizontal member 22 afiixed tothe bracket, and a spade shaped clamping element 23 at the free end ofmember 22. Preferably, the elongated member 22 of the upper arm or horn18 is channel shaped, having an inverted U-shaped cross section. Theclamping element 23 may be formed integrally with inverted channelmember 22 and provides a pair of laterally and upwardly curving wings24. The wings, as well as the concave undersunface of member 22, conformclosely with the back bone and rib basket contour within the body cavityof the fowl and, during the break-apart operation, the ribs and back arefirmly anchored against movement by the horn, as will be brought outmore clearly hereinafter.

The lower arm 19 is pivotally mounted by pin 25 to side plates 11 and 12and, at its rear end beneath the transverse pin, is provided with adepending lever extension 26. The lower end of the lever is connected toplunger 27 of an air cylinder 28. The cylinder is pivotally supportedbetween the side plates by lateral projections 29 rotatably receivedwithin openings 30. When the air cylinder is actuated to extend plunger27, the free forward end of arm 19 moves upwardly towards the stationaryupper arm 18 and when the air cylinder is actuated to retract plunger 27arm 19 swings downwardly into the lowered position illustrated inFIGURES 1-3.

Near its free forward end, lower arm 19' is provided with a saddle 31 ofdeveloped shape which conforms closely with the outer back contour of afowl. As shown most clearly in FIGURES l and 3, saddle 31 comprises alongitudinally elongated plate having upwardly curved side flanges orwings 32. at its rear end. Adjacent the saddles forward end are a pairof spaced and forwardly tapering upstanding members 33 and, between thespaced forward ends of these members, are a pair of laterally spacednails or pins 34. A pair of L-shaped wing-removal bars 35 are welded orotherwise secured to the undersurface of the saddle and projectforwardly and then laterally from the front end of that saddle. Thesaddle may be secured to the front end of arm 19 by any suitable means.In the illustration given, the saddle is equipped with dependingconnecting plates 36 which are bolted to the arm. In operation, thesaddle is rigidly secured to the arm; however, the bolt 37 may beloosened to permit adjustment of the saddle when such adjustment isrequired. Also, bolt 37 permits replacement of saddle 31 with a largeror different sized saddle, as Where a saddle for supporting turkeys isto be substituted for a smaller chicken-supporting saddle.

Suitable control means, in the form of levers 38 and 39, are providedfor actuating the air cylinder to lower and raise arm 19 and the saddlecarried thereby. When lever 38 is urged rearwardly, air flows into thefront end of the valve-controlled cylinder 28 to urge plunger 27rearwardly and lower arm 1?. Similarly, when lever 39 is urgedforwardly, air flows into the cylinder to extend plunger 27 and raisethe free end of the lower arm. Since the construction and operation ofthe air cylinder and its actuating means are entirely conventional,further description is believed unnecessary for the purpose ofdisclosing the present invention.

In the preferred operation of the apparatus, the poultry upon arrival atthe break-apart station are viscer-ated and cleaned with their heads,feet and feathers all removed. Ordinarily, but not necessarily, thepoultry will be cooked or partially cooked. The operator, using onehand, takes a whole fowl 40* from a suitable receptacle and inserts itupon the upper arm 18 so that its legs 41 face upwardly and thespade-like element 23 passes forwardly into the body cavity through therear opening thereof. With a forward movement of his hand, the operatortouches control lever 39' which closes the arms. With :the pivotallymounted lower arm 19 fully raised, the fowl 40 is firmly clamped inposition upon saddle 31, as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

As arm 19 moves upwardly into its raised position, nails 34 penetratethe back of the fowl on each side of the vertebral column to prevent anylateral movement of the carcass during the subsequent break-apartoperation. Upstanding elements 33 bear firmly against the back betweenthe vertebral column and the scapula bones so that later, duringseparation of the breast and back sections, the scapula bones will beremoved with the breast section rather than remain with the back.Elements 33 also contribute to preventing lateral movement of the fowlwhen it is in clamped position upon the saddle and assist in promoting aclean separation of the wings 42 from the wing sockets of the pectoralgirdle, as will now be described.

After the fowl has been clamped upon the saddle 31, the operator, usingboth hands and with his palms down, grasps each of the wings with histhumbs at the points of wing attachment to the coracoid bones and hisfingers Wrapped around the upper sides of the wings. Each wing is thenrotated rearwardly about its point of attachment to the body so that thepalms of the workers hands are turned upwardly. This twisting actionbreaks loose most of the ligaments at the main wing joints. Thereafter,the operator grips the wings and bends them downwardly in front oflateral bars 35. The bars serve as fulcrums and, as the wings aretwisted downwardly in front of the bars and then upwardly behind thebars, they are pulled cleanly from their sockets.

After placing the detached wings 42 in appropriate pans, the operator,again using both hands, grips the legs 41 of the clamped fowl and, withhis thumbs disposed between the legs and the body adjacent the sockets,

prys and pulls the legs downwardly and outwardly. The legs are therebydetached from the body of the fowl, the upstanding wings 32 of thecradle promoting a clean break at the hip socket and preventing theremoval of meat from the rear back portion of the fowl about the pelvicgirdle. i

As previously mentioned, the elongated member 22 of upper arm or horn1'8 conforms to the spinal contour within the carcass and, incombination with the saddle 31 and the wings 32 thereof, holds thesynsacrum and innominate bones of the pelvic girdle stationary as thelegs -41 are being detached from the carcass. Therefore, the clampingelements of the upper and lower arms elimi nate or greatly reduce thepossibilities that the pelvic girdle will be broken away from thevertebral column or will become chipped or broken in any other mannerdur ing the leg removal step.

The two legs are placed in separate pans. Since the operator uses bothhands in removing the paired appendages, the removal of the wings andlegs is performed quickly in two simple steps. Furthermore, byperforming the same operation with both hands at the same time, theoperator is able to perform substantially identical movements inremoving the appendages on opposite sides of the fowl, thereby insuringsubstantially uni-form or symmetrical dismembering of the carcass duringthe breakanart operation.

After the appendages have been removed, the operator hooks the firstfinger of each hand about the last rib on each side of the fowl anddraws his thumbs along the sides of the fowl fromthe wing sockets to therear end of the sternum. This action tends to unlace or weaken theconnections between the vertebral ribs and the relatively heavy andsecure sternal ribs, and also scores the meat between the back andbreast sections. Then, with one hand, the operator grips the breast atthe rear end of the sternum and pulls it upwardly and forwardly,pivoting the breast about the front end of the pectoral girdle. Afterpivoting the breast to an angle of approximately 30 degrees, it ispulled forwardly and downwardly to release and withdraw the scapulaewhich extend along the front portion of the back on opposite side ofnails 34. The breast is then drawn cleanly away from the back sectionwith the vertebral ribs remaining attached to the back section and thescapulae connected to the breast. As the breast section is being carriedto a suitable pan, the operator, with the same hand, strikes lever 38 torelease the clamp. With return movement of the same hand, the operatorremoves the back section from the lowered saddle and, with his otherhand, places a fresh carcass in supine position upon upper arm 18. Theforegoing procedure is then repeated.

It is to be noted that during the break-apant operation the carcass ofthe fowl is clamped firmly in a stationary supine position and thatthere is no prolonged contact between that fowl and a workers hands. ageremoving steps are performed swiftly and the appendages are released bythe operator as soon as they have been removed from the body. Similarly,the contact between the carcass and the operators hands during the backand breast separation step is only of very limited duration. This isimportant because the apparatus of the invention permits thedismembering and.

breaking apart of poultry carcasses immediately after a cookingoperation and while they are still hot. Ordimadly, in a conventionalpoultry processing operation where meat is to be removed therefrom, itis necessary to allow the poultry to cool since the usual dismemberingoperation requires an operator to hold the fowl in one hand while theappendages are removed with the other.

Here, the operator has both hands free for dismembering and breakingapant the carcass and, in addition, such, i

an operation may be performed immediately after the poultry has beenremoved from the cooking kettle. The result is a fast and highlyeffective method for separating The appendpoultry carcasses intosections and for reducing the period of meat exposure to flavor loss andpossible bacteria formation between the cooking of the poultry and thefreezing of further processing of the removed meat. As brought outabove, the ribs of the carcass remain with the back section as thebreast section of the fowl is pulled away. Since all fowl passingthrough the breakapart station are dismembered and broken apart in asubstantially identical manner, operators at subsequent meat-removalstations receive carcass sections having substantially uniform meat andbone arrangements. As a result, there is little or no chance that bonesor bone fragments will become accidentally removed with the meat andwill ultimately reach the consumer. The operator at the station forremoval of meat from poultry breasts may remove the meat without concernfor loosely connected vertebral ribs (since such bones remain with theback sections) and the operators at the stations for removal of meatfrom the back sections may adopt a standardarized procedure for removingmeat from the vertebral rib baskets without detaching those ribs fromthe vertebral columns. Thus, the use of the apparatus of the presentinvention eliminates or greatly reduces the possibilities of bonecontamination in the final meat product.

While in the foregoing I have disclosed an embodiment of the inventionin considerable detail for purposes of illustration, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may bevaried without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A fixture adapted for use in the sectioning of poultry carcassescomprising a stationary frame, a horizontal arm securely afiixed at oneend to said frame and adapted to extend into the body cavity of apoultry carcass for supporting said carcass in supine position thereon,a second arm pivotally connected to said frame beneath saidfirst-mentioned arm for movement between a lowered position and a raisedclamping position wherein the back portion of said carcass is clampedtightly between said first and second arms, said second arm beingprovided with a saddle portion adapted to receive and conform with theouter contour of a portion of the back section of a supine poultrycarcass for supporting said back section in clamped position againstsaid upper arm, and means for shitting said second arm between saidraised and lowered positions.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said first arm is provided with aplate element at the free end thereof curved to conform with thevertebral rib cage contour within said body cavity.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said first arm is provided betweensaid element and said frame with a channel portion of inverted U-shapedcross section for receiving and holding the backbone of a poultrycarcass within the body cavity thereof.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said means comprises adouble-acting air cylinder operatively connected to said second arm forshifting the same between said raised and lowered positions.

5. A poultry-holding fixture comprising a stationary frame, a horizontalarm securely aflixed at one end to said frame and adapted to extend intothe body cavity of a poultry carcass for supporting said carcass insupine position thereon, a second arm pivotally connected to said framebeneath said first-mentioned arm for upward movement into a raisedclamping position against the outer surface of a back section of apoultry carcass supported upon said first-mentioned arm wherein the backsection of a poultry carcass is clamped tightly between said arms, saidsecond arm being provided with a saddle portion adapted to receive andconform with the outer contour of a portion of said back section.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said first-mentioned arm includes achannel portion of inverted U- shaped cross section for receiving andholding the back bone of a poultry carcass the body cavity thereof.

7. A poultry-holding fixture comprising a frame, a horizontal armsecurely aifixed at one end to said frame and adapted to extend into thebody cavity of a poultry carcass for supporting said carcass in supineposition thereon, a second arm pivotally connected to said frame beneathsaid first-mentioned arm for upward movement into a raised positionwherein the back section of a poultry carcass is clamped tightly betweensaid arms, said second arm being provided with at least one pair oflaterally spaced upstanding prongs adapted to pierce the back of acarcass ,on each side ofithe'vertebral column thereof for locking saidcarcass against lateral movement upon said first-mentioned when saidsecond arm is raised. i

8. The structure of claim 7 in which said first arm is provided with aplate element at the free end thereof curved to conform with thevertebral rib cage contour within said body cavity.

9. The structure of claim 7 in which said second arm is equippedadjacent its free end with a saddle portion adapted to support andconform to the outer contour of the back section of a supine poultrycarcass for supporting said back section in clamped position againstsaid first arm.

10. A poultry-holding fixture comprising a frame, a horizontal armmounted at one end thereof to said frame and adapted to extend into thebody cavity of a poultry carcass for supporting said carcass in supineposition thereon, a second arm connected to said frame beneath saidfirst-mentioned arm and equipped adjacent the free end thereof withupstanding prongs adapted to pierce the back of a carcass on each sideof the vertebral column thereof for locking said carcass :againstlateral movement, said arms being mounted upon said frame for relativemovement in a vertical plane to bring the free ends thereof together forclamping the back section of a poultry carcass tightly between saidarms.

11. The structure of claim 10 in which said first-mentioned arm isprovided with a plate element at the free end thereof curved to conformwith the vertebral rib cage contour within saidbody cavity.

12. The structure of claim 10 in which said second arm is providedadjacent the free end thereof with a saddle portion adapted to receiveand conform to the outer contour of the back section of a supine poultrycarcass for supporting the back section in clamped position against thefirst arm.

13. A fixture adapted for use in the sectioning of poultry carcassescomprising a frame, a horizontal arm mounted at one end to said frameand adapted to extend into the body cavity of a poultry carcass forsupporting said carcass in supine position thereon, a second arm mountedupon said frame beneath said first-mentioned arm, said arms beingmounted upon said frame for relative movement of the free ends thereofin a vertical plane between clamping and unclamping positions, saidsecond arm being provided adjacent the free end thereof with laterallyprojecting bars, whereby, the wings of a poultry carcass clamped betweensaid arms may be twisted about said bars to pull said wings away fromthe remainder of the carcass.

'14. The structure of claim 13 in which said. second arm is alsoprovided adjacent the free end thereof with upstanding prongs spaced onopposite sides of the arms longitudinal mid line for piercing the backof a clamped carcass on each side of the vertebral column thereof.

15. The structure of claim 13 in which said second arm is also providedadjacent the free end thereof with a saddle portion adapted to receiveand conform to the outer contour of the back section of a supine poultrycan cass for supporting said back section in clamped position againstsaid first arm.

:16. The structure of claim 13 in which said first arm is provided witha plate element at the free end thereof curved to conform with thevertebral rib cage contour within the body cavity of said carcass.

17. A poultry carcass supporting fixture equipped with upper and lowerpoultry-clamping arms, said upper arm being rigidly supported at one endthereof and having at its opposite end a clamping element curved toconform with the vertebral rib cage contour within the body cavity of apoultry carcass, said upper arm being adapted to extend into the bodycavity of 1a poultry carcass for supporting the same in supine positionthereon, said lower arm being movable between raised and loweredpositions and being adapted to clamp the back section of a poultrycarcass against said upper arm'when said lower arm is in raisedposition, said lower arm being equipped with upstanding prongs adaptedto pierce the back of a carcass on each side of the vertebral columnthereof for locking said carcass against lateral movement upon saidupper arm when said lower arm is raised.

18. A poultry carcass supporting fixture equipped with upper and lowerpoultry-clamping arms, said upper arm being rigidly supported at oneend'thereof and having at its opposite end a clamping element curved toconform with the vertebral rib cage contour within the body cavity of apoultry carcass, said upper arm being adapted to extend into the bodycavity of a poultry carcass for supporting the same in supine positionthereon, said lower arm being movable between raised and loweredpositions and being adapted to clamp the back section of a poultrycarcass against said upper arm when said lower arm is in raisedposition, said lower arm being provided with a saddle portion adapted toreceive and conform with the outer contour of. the back section of asupine poultry carcass for supporting said back section in clamped position against said upper arm. v 19. The structure of claim 18 in whichsaid saddle is provided with spaced upstanding wings adjacent the rearend thereof for receiving the pelvic girdle of a clamped poultry carcassand for protecting the pelvic girdle and vertebral column againstbreakage when the legs of the fowl are pulled away from the clampedcarcass.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,237,203 Swanson Apr. 1, 1941 2,586,732 Sohier Feb. 19, 1952 2,785,437Standley et a1 Mar. 19, 1957 2,947,106 Lewan Aug. 2, 1960

1. A FIXTURE ADAPTED FOR USE IN THE SECTIONING OF POULTRY CARCASSESCOMPRISING A STATIONARY FRAME, A HORIZONTAL ARM SECURELY AFFIXED AT ONEEND TO SAID FRAME AND ADAPTED TO EXTEND INTO THE BODY CAVITY OF APOULTRY CARCASS FOR SUPPORTING SAID CARCASS IN SUPINE POSITION THEREON,A SECOND ARM PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME BENEATH SAIDFIRST-MENTIONED ARM FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A LOWERED POSITION AND A RAISEDCLAMPING POSITION WHEREIN THE BACK PORTION OF SAID CARCASS IS CLAMPEDTIGHTLY BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND ARMS, SAID SECOND ARM BEINGPROVIDED WITH A SADDLE PORTION ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AND CONFORM WITH THEOUTER CONTOUR OF A PORTION OF THE BACK SECTION OF A SUPINE POULTRYCARCASS FOR SUPPORTING SAID BACK SECTION IN CLAMPED POSITION AGAINSTSAID UPPER ARM, AND MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID SECOND ARM BETWEEN SAIDRAISED AND LOWERED POSITIONS.